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Iran

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Iran. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Tehran

Head of State

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

Head of Government

President Masoud Pezeshkian

A fire and plume of smoke rise on Saturday after, authorities say, debris from an intercepted Iranian drone struck an oil facility in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. Photo: AP

US, Israel war on Iran

US energy chief signals Iran war could continue for several more weeks

Meanwhile, Iran’s FM said his nation was not interested in talks with the US ‘because we were talking when they decided to attack us’.

12 minutes agovideocam

US, Israel war on Iran

‘Cease fire’! Pope Leo escalates call for Middle East war to end

1 hour agovideocam

US, Israel war on Iran

Over 800,000 Lebanese – 1 in 7 people – displaced by war in 10 days

2 hours agovideocam

US, Israel war on Iran

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards issue death threat for Israeli PM Netanyahu

Before the threat, US President Donald Trump said Tehran wanted ‘to make a deal, I don’t want to because the terms aren’t good enough yet’.

4 hours agovideocam

People burn an image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a demonstration in Mexico on Saturday. Photo: EPA

US, Israel war on Iran

‘Black rain’: Iran war’s toxic pollution will spread and last for years

Missiles and bombs contain pollutants which are released into the air, soil and water when they explode and crash, posing many health risks.

6 hours agovideocam

US, Israel war on Iran

To help Middle East nations fight drones, Ukraine wants cash and tech

This is about ⁠protection and a full assessment of how to counter Shahed drones, says Zelensky, after Kyiv dispatched dozens of experts.

6 hours agovideocam

China-EU relations

Tariffs and distrust: EU’s bid to ditch China hits capacity problems

‘Thinly spread’ bloc seeks this week to thrash out memorandum on critical minerals with the US, eyeing a more formal instrument down the road.

6 hours agovideocam

This week’s summit of EU leaders in Brussels is supposed to be about the bloc’s competitiveness, widely understood as a response to China’s state-backed industrial expansion. Photo: Reuters

Crime in Hong Kong

Terrorism threat in Hong Kong ‘moderate’ amid Middle East war: security chief

Secretary for Security Chris Tang says city has one of world’s lowest crime rates despite having fewer CCTV cameras compared with other places.

5 hours ago

Indonesia

Prabowo ‘surprised’ by Iran war, says US bombing won’t spark regime change

The president says he does not see any ‘rationality’ in the military campaign, urging all sides to ‘look for the peaceful option’ to end the war.

15 Mar 2026 - 2:49PMvideocam

Middle East

Why the Iran war marks a turning point for Gulf-Asia trade

The closure of the Middle East’s important straits – Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb – is forcing Gulf and Asian nations to explore other options.

15 Mar 2026 - 2:00PMvideocam

Oil tanker trucks stand parked near an oil storage terminal in Karachi on Thursday as global energy markets face disruptions amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Photo: AFP

Central Asia

Beyond a ‘buffer zone’: how the Iran war is recalibrating Central Asian ties

The former Soviet republics are leveraging diplomatic fallout from conflict to assert autonomy and balance major powers, observers say.

15 Mar 2026 - 2:00PMvideocam

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has mobilised the army and recalled diplomats from Tehran following Iranian drone strikes that hit an airport in his country. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong economy

Middle East conflict could divert new capital to Hong Kong: treasury chief

Christopher Hui pledges to keep markets operating smoothly amid energy price shocks caused by US-Israel war against Iran.

5 hours ago

US, Israel war on Iran

Turkey says Iran feels ‘betrayed’ by US attacks during nuclear talks

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says Tehran still ‘open to any sensible backchannel diplomacy’, vows to keep Ankara out of the war.

15 Mar 2026 - 11:15AMvideocam

Hong Kong society

Playing the harp amid sirens: why a Hongkonger refuses to flee the Middle East

Church worker Gloria Mok landed in Israel days before fighting erupted, but plans to stay to complete her three-month Hebrew course.

15 Mar 2026 - 4:28PM

Gloria Mok, who works in a Hong Kong church group, has made more than 20 trips to Israel. Her latest was to attend a three-month course in Hebrew. Photo: Handout

War and conflict

Opinion | US attack on IRIS Dena shows that wars know no borders

The sinking of an Iranian naval frigate off Sri Lanka’s coast is a grim reminder of how easily conflicts can spill into unexpected places.

15 Mar 2026 - 8:20AMvideocam

Injured Iranian sailors are seen at Galle National Hospital on March 5, following a submarine attack on the Iranian military ship IRIS Dena off the coast of Sri Lanka. Photo: Reuters

US, Israel war on Iran

Israel may commit ‘new genocide’ in Lebanon with Iran as pretext, Turkey warns

Lebanon was dragged into the conflict when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Supreme Leader Khamenei.

15 Mar 2026 - 1:40AMvideocam

US, Israel war on Iran

Iran war: Trump urges China, other nations, to send warships to secure Hormuz

The president insisted that Iran’s military capability had been eliminated but admitted it was still able to attack the strait.

15 Mar 2026 - 6:04AM

120

US, Israel war on Iran

Iran war entering ‘decisive phase’, Israel says, as attacks continue

Washington’s embassy in Iraq was hit by a drone, while clouds of black smoke rose over the Fujairah energy facility in the UAE.

14 Mar 2026 - 11:51PM

Smoke rises in the Fujairah oil industry zone, caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defences, according to the Fujairah media office, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

US, Israel war on Iran

UN chief says ‘diplomatic avenues are available’ to end war in Lebanon

Antonio Guterres has also urged support for the Lebanese government, which last year committed to disarming Hezbollah.

14 Mar 2026 - 11:29PMvideocam

US-China relations

The US is shifting THAAD to the Middle East. What does that mean for China?

Analysts warn of a regional capability gap in the wake of US redeployment of anti-missile system to the Middle East.

14 Mar 2026 - 10:00PMvideocam

Yuan

Will China’s yuan lift Strait of Hormuz blockade? Analysts urge caution

The world’s most vital energy artery has been largely paralysed since the launch of US-Israeli strikes on Iran last month.

14 Mar 2026 - 9:09PMvideocam

Iran is reportedly considering allowing a limited number of oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz on the condition that the cargo be traded in yuan. Photo: Reuters

Britain

UK eyes ‘targeted’ support for households amid rising energy costs

Finance chief Rachel Reeves says there are plans to help those vulnerable to sharp rises in energy prices, especially those who rely on heating oil.

14 Mar 2026 - 8:35PMvideocam

Cars refuel at a BP petrol station in London, Britain, on Tuesday. Global oil prices have risen sharply amid the conflict ⁠in the Middle East. Photo: EPA

US, Israel war on Iran

Hamas calls on Iran to ‘avoid targeting neighbouring countries’

The Palestinian Islamist group also urges the international community to ‘work towards halting’ the ongoing war immediately.

14 Mar 2026 - 7:30PMvideocam

India

‘There is a lot of anxiety’: Indian sailors stranded off Iran just want to go home

About 23,000 Indians work on merchant, harbour and offshore vessels across ‌the Gulf region, and their safety has become a big issue at home.

14 Mar 2026 - 6:30PMvideocam

Trending in China

Iran boxing coach leaves China job, returns home to be with family despite risks

Skilled and responsible fight trainer says if he is going to die, it will be with his relatives in Tehran; gym boss pays for flight into war zone.

14 Mar 2026 - 6:00PM

A 33-year-old boxing coach from Iran left his secure job in China to return to Tehran and be with his family due to the war. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin

US, Israel war on Iran

‘Race against time’: aid groups warn of humanitarian crisis in Lebanon

Aid workers are scrambling to respond to the growing numbers of people seeking help, as the Israel-Hezbollah conflict intensifies.

14 Mar 2026 - 5:50PM

A displaced child sits inside a roadside tent by the sea, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Friday. Photo: Reuters

US, Israel war on Iran

Macroscope | Trump hasn’t counted on financial blowback from his war with Iran

As Washington fights a war with global economic ramifications, allies may soon begin to reassess their financial support of US coffers.

14 Mar 2026 - 6:50PM

US, Israel war on Iran

No longer safe: Iran war puts 9 million Indian workers in the line of fire

As missiles fly, drone strikes from Dubai to Doha are shattering the illusion of safety for millions of Indian expats living in the Gulf.

14 Mar 2026 - 4:00PMvideocam

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Iran

US energy chief signals Iran war could continue for several more weeks

Meanwhile, Iran’s FM said his nation was not interested in talks with the US ‘because we were talking when they decided to attack us’.

‘Cease fire’! Pope Leo escalates call for Middle East war to end

Over 800,000 Lebanese – 1 in 7 people – displaced by war in 10 days

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards issue death threat for Israeli PM Netanyahu

Before the threat, US President Donald Trump said Tehran wanted ‘to make a deal, I don’t want to because the terms aren’t good enough yet’.

‘Black rain’: Iran war’s toxic pollution will spread and last for years

Missiles and bombs contain pollutants which are released into the air, soil and water when they explode and crash, posing many health risks.

To help Middle East nations fight drones, Ukraine wants cash and tech

This is about ⁠protection and a full assessment of how to counter Shahed drones, says Zelensky, after Kyiv dispatched dozens of experts.

Tariffs and distrust: EU’s bid to ditch China hits capacity problems

‘Thinly spread’ bloc seeks this week to thrash out memorandum on critical minerals with the US, eyeing a more formal instrument down the road.

Terrorism threat in Hong Kong ‘moderate’ amid Middle East war: security chief

Secretary for Security Chris Tang says city has one of world’s lowest crime rates despite having fewer CCTV cameras compared with other places.

Prabowo ‘surprised’ by Iran war, says US bombing won’t spark regime change

The president says he does not see any ‘rationality’ in the military campaign, urging all sides to ‘look for the peaceful option’ to end the war.

Why the Iran war marks a turning point for Gulf-Asia trade

The closure of the Middle East’s important straits – Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb – is forcing Gulf and Asian nations to explore other options.

Beyond a ‘buffer zone’: how the Iran war is recalibrating Central Asian ties

The former Soviet republics are leveraging diplomatic fallout from conflict to assert autonomy and balance major powers, observers say.

Middle East conflict could divert new capital to Hong Kong: treasury chief

Christopher Hui pledges to keep markets operating smoothly amid energy price shocks caused by US-Israel war against Iran.

Turkey says Iran feels ‘betrayed’ by US attacks during nuclear talks

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says Tehran still ‘open to any sensible backchannel diplomacy’, vows to keep Ankara out of the war.

Playing the harp amid sirens: why a Hongkonger refuses to flee the Middle East

Church worker Gloria Mok landed in Israel days before fighting erupted, but plans to stay to complete her three-month Hebrew course.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Opinion | US attack on IRIS Dena shows that wars know no borders

The sinking of an Iranian naval frigate off Sri Lanka’s coast is a grim reminder of how easily conflicts can spill into unexpected places.

Israel may commit ‘new genocide’ in Lebanon with Iran as pretext, Turkey warns

Lebanon was dragged into the conflict when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Supreme Leader Khamenei.

Iran war: Trump urges China, other nations, to send warships to secure Hormuz

The president insisted that Iran’s military capability had been eliminated but admitted it was still able to attack the strait.

Iran war entering ‘decisive phase’, Israel says, as attacks continue

Washington’s embassy in Iraq was hit by a drone, while clouds of black smoke rose over the Fujairah energy facility in the UAE.

UN chief says ‘diplomatic avenues are available’ to end war in Lebanon

Antonio Guterres has also urged support for the Lebanese government, which last year committed to disarming Hezbollah.

The US is shifting THAAD to the Middle East. What does that mean for China?

Analysts warn of a regional capability gap in the wake of US redeployment of anti-missile system to the Middle East.

Will China’s yuan lift Strait of Hormuz blockade? Analysts urge caution

The world’s most vital energy artery has been largely paralysed since the launch of US-Israeli strikes on Iran last month.

UK eyes ‘targeted’ support for households amid rising energy costs

Finance chief Rachel Reeves says there are plans to help those vulnerable to sharp rises in energy prices, especially those who rely on heating oil.

Hamas calls on Iran to ‘avoid targeting neighbouring countries’

The Palestinian Islamist group also urges the international community to ‘work towards halting’ the ongoing war immediately.

‘There is a lot of anxiety’: Indian sailors stranded off Iran just want to go home

About 23,000 Indians work on merchant, harbour and offshore vessels across ‌the Gulf region, and their safety has become a big issue at home.

Iran boxing coach leaves China job, returns home to be with family despite risks

Skilled and responsible fight trainer says if he is going to die, it will be with his relatives in Tehran; gym boss pays for flight into war zone.

‘Race against time’: aid groups warn of humanitarian crisis in Lebanon

Aid workers are scrambling to respond to the growing numbers of people seeking help, as the Israel-Hezbollah conflict intensifies.

Macroscope | Trump hasn’t counted on financial blowback from his war with Iran

As Washington fights a war with global economic ramifications, allies may soon begin to reassess their financial support of US coffers.

No longer safe: Iran war puts 9 million Indian workers in the line of fire

As missiles fly, drone strikes from Dubai to Doha are shattering the illusion of safety for millions of Indian expats living in the Gulf.

Opinion | US attack on IRIS Dena shows that wars know no borders